Woodford’s latest CF Woodford Income Focus Fund was fourth on the stockbroker’s list of most popular funds, losing out on the top position it has held onto for two consecutive months.
The star manager’s vehicle was dethroned by Terry Smith’s Fundsmith Equity Fund, which investment research manager Sheridan Admans says is “unsurprising” given Smith’s “preference for defensive, resilient companies with advantages that are difficult to replicate.”
But this has not dampened the income undercurrent running through The Share Centre’s table.
Overall, three of the top-ten funds traded by the stockbroker’s customers had an income theme, which Admans suggests “could be a reflection of valuation, inflation expectation and the potential for a pickup in volatility ahead.”
Woodford’s flagship income fund, that struggled to deliver attractive returns in 2016, managed to snag the second top spot over the period.
The £1.09bn Schroder Income Maximiser Fund appeared further down the list at number 10.
Elsewhere, the table showed a renewed bias toward growth, a sign that UK investors are finally tiring of the Trump trade.
The Man GLG Continental European Growth Fund and the Aberdeen Foundation Growth Fund were both favoured by investors over the month, as was the Lindsell Train Global Equity Fund, which has a considerable bias toward consumer staples (46.8% at 30 April 2017).
